Report: Japan plans resumption of direct aid to PA

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
The Japanese government is planning to resume direct aid to the Palestinians, frozen over a year ago due to security concerns, a news report said Thursday. Foreign Ministry officials will be dispatched in June to discuss the details of a possible aid package with the Palestinian Authority, the Yomiuri newspaper said, without citing its sources. Foreign Ministry official Hideaki Adachi said the Japanese government has been providing the Palestinians with humanitarian aid through various international organizations. He also acknowledged that Tokyo was studying other ways of aiding the Palestinians and the peace process, but denied that any decision had been reached.